On July 25, a jury convicted Casey Childers, 41, of kidnapping and murdering Rachel Holeman, 29, back in 2021. Following an investigation led by the Aurora Police Department, deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office found her body more than a month after her disappearance along an embankment off CO-83 (S. Parker Rd). The coroner’s report determined the victim died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Police in Fort Collins initially took a missing person’s report. The preliminary investigation, which included witness statements, revealed that Holeman was in Colorado with Childers and co-conspirator Shantel Edlund, for purposes of distributing drugs. The Fort Collins Police Department determined that the last known location of Holeman was in the City of Aurora and turned the investigation over to the Aurora Police Department. Aurora Investigators later determined Holeman was kidnapped by Childers, Edlund, and a third co-conspirator, Leo Vanbuskirk, 23, around November 6, 2021 near Colfax and Victor Street in a Chevrolet Malibu sedan.
On November 7, 2021, Douglas County deputies responding to an unrelated burglary call drove past the Chevrolet Malibu near S. Parker Road and Russellville Road, which was captured on dashcam. One of the deputies ran the license plate of the Chevrolet Malibu, which later helped investigators connect the car and the location to Holeman’s disappearance.
On December 29, 2021, police in Sheridan, WY, conducted a traffic stop on the same Chevrolet sedan, registered to Edlund. During the traffic stop, police arrested Edlund, Childers, and Vanbuskirk on unrelated drug charges and warrants.
Based on statements made by Edlund along with the dashcam footage, the Aurora Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and Douglas County’s Search and Rescue Team flew a drone over the surrounding area and found Holeman’s body.
The diligent efforts of Investigators with the Aurora Police Department, along with the support of law enforcement agencies across Colorado and Wyoming led to the arrest and ultimate convictions for Childers, Edlund, and Vanbuskirk.
Edlund pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Second-Degree Murder. She was sentenced to 18 years in the Department of Corrections.
Vanbuskirk pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Second-Degree Murder and Second-Degree Kidnapping. Sentencing is set for later this year.
Childers, who was identified as the shooter, was convicted by a jury of the following offenses:
First-Degree Murder after Deliberation
Second-Degree Kidnapping
Conspiracy to Commit Second-Degree Kidnapping
“The evidence shows this defendant senselessly murdered and left her body in a remote part of the county where he thought no one would find her,” Senior Deputy DA Corrie Caler said. “Fortunately, an alert deputy responding to a different call took the time to run a plate which helped narrow down the search area for Rachel.”
Following the guilty conviction, Childers was sentenced Thursday afternoon to life in prison without the possibility of parole on the first-degree murder charge.
“I’m thankful to the jurors for their hard work in this two-week long trial,” Chief Deputy DA Colleen Greer said. “Although this verdict can’t help the grief and pain Rachel’s family is feeling, I hope it provides some sense of closure for them to know these dangerous individuals will be held accountable for Rachel’s death.”
In addition to the life sentence, Childers was given 32 years on the second-degree kidnapping charge and 16 years for Conspiracy to Commit Second-Degree Kidnapping. Both sentences will run concurrent to the life sentence.
“I am incredibly grateful for the hard work and determination of Chief Deputy District Attorney Colleen Greer and Senior Deputy District Attorney Corrie Caler for their dedication to bringing this killer to justice,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “This was not a hastily committed crime; it was deliberate, calculated and cruel. Casey Childers deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”